Knits

I think this is the first time in a long time that I actually really like something in Knitty.

Yosemite

Not only is it named after one of my favourite places ever, but it’s very nice looking. Now I wonder if I’ll ever get around to knitting it… I’d definitely lengthen the sleeves, maybe not necessarily to full-length but cap sleeves and my rather (un)muscular upper arms are not friends. Maybe it would work if I walked around w/ my arms sort of behind me all the time like the model. Haha. I even like the soft shawl collar.

The Lace Ribbon scarf is also rather nice.

Jaden is nice from the front, but those ties around the arms? Er, no. Not that any pattern isn’t adjustable to one’s style and needs, but lucky this pattern makes them optional from the start.

Oh and Brighton… maybe one day I’ll become a handbag sort of girl instead of a backpack/child’s purse sort of girl.

There are a couple of others that look nice, but aren’t my bag, baby.

Oy this week has been rough. I think the lack of doing much of anything in California did not help. It always kind of sucks going that far, actually relaxing and resting, only to come back feeling slightly relaxed and rested and then battle jet lag. The weather isn’t helping either. It’s been really windy all week — every morning I cycle into 20-30 mph winds and after two weeks of barely moving (ah, America), it was a bit rough. And last night on the way home, in the dark and rain, I got a flat tire barely a third of the way home. Bah.

I have done a teensy bit of knitting. I finished up a second pair of those wristlets — will have to get a photo tomorrow — and will start the third pair tonight, maybe. The original pair has stalled as I ended up ripping back the two straight rounds and still don’t have enough to do the picot bind off. I know I could do a regular bind off and rip back the finished one and do the same, but I think the picot edge reflects the ruffled look of the other end and a flat bind off would look odd. Anyway, I’ve managed to source some more of the discontinued yarn (even though I only need a few metres).

This weekend sees me heading up to Manchester for 24-hours. I’m attending a charity pub crawl… with 199 other people. Oh. Dear. Lord. At least there will be some knitting time on the ride up… knitting on the ride back down may not prove fruitful.

The new Knitty is meh. I like Ice Queen and Jeanie, but not in a must-knit way. Dahlia and Abontanicity are cute-ish, but would look goofy on me. And I’m sorry, but the Kilt Hose bug me simply because of the inaccurate historical description of Irish kilts and the designer’s Irish heritage and her father owning two kilts because of his Irish heritage. The Irish never wore kilts. Also, in the picture the model is wearing a Utili-kilt and those things make my head explode. They are so stupid looking.

But did you see the new Knit on the Net? The Little Black Dress is awesome. Will I knit it? Doubtful. But I think Gudrun Johnston is a designer to watch.

How about some new to me patterns? Okay!

• Aquaphobia socks from knitfreak — apparently good for those handpainted yarns that pool.
• La Digitessa from Yarnissima — available on its own or as part of a kit with an exclusive colourway
• Several of the patterns in Knitalong are cute (here’s the Ravelry project page)
• Dizzy from Berroco — simple spiral, eyelet hat
• Unbiased scarf from SavannahChik — looks like it’s knit on the bias, but it’s not.

Okay, so I actually wrote this post when I got home then because of a squiffy belly I’ve had off and on all week, I went to bed after a dinner of toast and ginger ale at the wild and crazy hour of 8pm knowing full well that I wouldn’t sleep through the night. So it’s now 230am, I’ve been up since midnight and I think I might just try going back to bed now as I’ve got to pack and catch a train in the morning. I’ll have to add in other links and stuff later.

Photos are from the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Gorgeous building — go see it.

We’ve had a hot weekend here. Obviously I mean hot by British standards, but they’re also my standards ’cause I do not cope with heat AT ALL. I wonder if this bright, sunny weather is going to stick around more than beyond this weekend. It’s been a terrible summer. We had some really great weather back in April and when I went to Ireland in June, we totally lucked out and had amazing weather; if it wasn’t for that trip back in June, this summer would’ve been a total bust really. It’s a real shame because now that the summer solstice passed way back in late-June, night comes far more quickly and there really hasn’t been opportunity to actually sit out and enjoy the warm, summer weather with a pint or glass of your favourite (alcoholic) beverage.

Well yesterday I managed to get into town to return some jeans that didn’t fit despite being the EXACT same style and size, just a different colour dye, to the one’s I have that fit me perfectly. I was so annoyed as I only have one pair of jeans that fit me. I’ve got a couple pair of cords that I can get away with although they are a bit big. While in town I actually decided to shop for meat and produce at the Covered Market. Let me tell you, I am a convert. I used to always shop for produce at the weekly Farmer’s Market back in Monterey. Oxford offers one twice a month, but it’s at a stupid hour (in the middle of the day like 11-2 or something) on a Thursday so pretty much only those who live or work in the city centre can go. I’m not really sad about it because I did actually happen to pass through it once and it looked awful. Yesterday I bought a ton of vegetables and four organic sausages for about £6. That is dead cheap. I grilled most of the veg and all the sausages up for a late-lunch for me and the boy. I am still stuffed. So I am going to try to haul myself down there every week with my reusable shopping bag(s) and get some fresh produce and maybe some meat.

I also bought this salt and pepper shaker set. I realised I don’t actually have pourable salt and pepper though. BUT IT IS SO CUTE.

I cast on for a modified-modified Cathode. As I was browsing around Ravelry (I swear my addiction is getting less) I saw a version of Cathode sans giant collar and in a solid yarn. I liked it. It actually ends up looking quite similar to the Split-neckline cap-sleeved tee in Fitted Knits. So I am knitting that to look similar to the Ravelry users version, but even further had to modify it because the yarn I’m using isn’t quite as chunky. *fingers crossed* I’m nearly at a point where I can slip it off the needles and see how it’s going.

I may actually cast on for some Pomatomous socks tonight as I’ve been meaning to for a couple of weeks now. I’m going to do them toe up and, hopefully, two at once. *more crossing of fingers* I’ve also got another ball band dishcloth on the go as I was re-teaching someone how to knit on Friday night and thought that it would be a good project to re-learn on since it is relatively simple and an object can be completed relatively quickly even by a slow knitter.

Hope you’ve all had a good weekend. Mine was good even though this morning as I went to change my bed sheets I found the following:

NOT IMPRESSED. Luckily it was actually between the top sheet and blanket.

I’m afraid I’m not really any further along with the Falling Leaves socks. I’ve done one pattern repeat since I turned the heel. Despite the excitement of having two socks at once from the toe-up thanks to using an extremely long circular needle, I was finding it really wasn’t making me feel like I’d made any progress. And because of the need to readjust the needles four times each round, it really slows things down. Maybe two circulars is the way to go…

Anyway, I ended up moving one sock onto a set of DPNs. Hopefully this will mean I will actually make progress and finish a sock. Unfortunately, I only had one set of DPNs small enough and there’s only 4 of them. They’re actually a nice set of 5″ aluminium needles inherited from my grandma - no idea what brand. Last night I was trying to find some DPNs for sock knitting and wasn’t really having any luck. I’m after 5″ length with relatively sharp points. Any recommendations? Previously I tried some bamboo needles and I think maybe I got a bad batch as one of the needles was *really* bendy and the tips dulled quickly.

In other news, I got moo cards. I choose 20 different pictures so I got 5 of each card - I even got two knitting pictures in there. Heh. And yesterday I had a work away half-day for “strategic planning” which of course didn’t really happen. It was held in a 13th century Abbey. Very, very pretty building and grounds. Unfortunately when I went to take pictures all sorts of people were completely intrigued that I had a camera and sort of followed me so I didn’t really feel comfortable taking pictures with an audience so I just quickly snapped some things which didn’t turn out very good. I’d actually like to visit the place again just to take some pictures!

I finished the waist band of Bad Penny last night. I tried it on. IT IS TOO SHORT! I really cannot figure out how this has happened. I tried it on prior to adding the waist band and it was about an inch shorter than I would’ve liked, but decided I could live with it and would just expand the waist band ribbing by that much. And I did.

It now seems to be SEVERAL inches too short! I’m so annoyed. It took me way too long to do the waist band because that yarn is hard to work with. And now I need to decide what to do. I have no idea if there is some way to sneak in those extra inches between the body and the waist (some sort of splicing). If there is, it’s totally beyond my abilities right now. Or do I rip it out and add on? Or do I just give up and put this aside? If I put it aside, is an aside for a little while while I work on something that (hopefully) doesn’t leave me frustrated and feeling defeated? Or is it a forever aside which means ripping it out and finding another use for the yarn?

Part of me is inclined to rip it out up to the sleeves and, at some point, continue knitting it to the right length. I think it’s a pretty cute, casual top, but it is just really frustrating me. I need to decide quick because I will need to order that SIXTH ball of yarn ASAP.

I’m going off to cry now.

I’ve completed the eyelet pattern on the Bad Penny waist band. I didn’t get to it the other night, but I should be done with the waist band tonight. Because I needed a bit more length, I made the ribbing before the eyelet pattern about a half-inch longer than the pattern said to. It looks really long now! I hope it doesn’t look so out of proportion once it’s all done or I will cry! Oh and the chart for the eyelet pattern only indicated the k2tog’s and the yarn overs - it wasn’t clear if the other stitches should stay in ribbing pattern or not. Since others remarked that their eyelet pattern didn’t seem to show up as much as in the sample on the pattern, I decided to knit all the stitches rather than keep the 1×1 rib going. It looks a little odd…. hopefully it will settle. The picture on the pattern is too far away to determine what Stefanie did.

I’d really like to knit a couple of summer tops. Right now I’ve got (most of) the wool for Ms Marigold and am awaiting the yarn for Sizzle (I know, they’re quite similar, but w/ Sizzle I could wear it without another top underneath*). I’d like to knit Isabella from the most recent Knitty (adjusting the fit a bit), but I don’t have the yarn and I am really trying not to buy more. If I can get it really cheap on eBay, then I will. However, in looking for the yarn for Isabella, I came across some other really good deals and am really struggling with not making a purchase.

When I first started knitting and I trawled the internet for knitting information - patterns, blogs, yarn - I saw Rogue and I said “I want to make that!” And there’s Eris which is really nice too (although I’d really like it to have a hood for some reason). The yarn I came across today is exactly the kind of thing these patterns call for and it’s half the price and discontinued. My fingers are really, really itching to press “Buy it now”. But I have so much yarn already and I’m trying to be good. I really would like a nice cardigan (I’m planning on knitting Cosmicpluto’s Top Down Cardi 2.0, and while it’s nice, it’ll be slightly stripey and more casual than something like Eris). And then Cosmicpluto has also recently published two other cute sweaters - Button me up and Belle Shrug - although the Shrug is apparently available from the yarn shop she works for, but their web site is a bit weird as it points to all the manufacturers and I can’t seem to actually find any information about prices and that pattern.

Oh also, I really, really like this Simple Knitted Bodice sweater from Stitch Diva.

This was supposed to be a really short entry! I don’t even have any pictures to make up for this length! But I have written my letter for Domesticat’s Knitterly letter swap. Hurrah!

Okay I dug something out of the archive…

This was to be a very simple pullover sweater, but I didn’t like it so it’s going to be a sleeveless top. It’s Lana Grossa Point Print. And I have A LOT of it.

* Disclaimer for The Boy who reads this I think… I MEAN IN PUBLIC, okay?

This last week has had surprisingly little knitting. I really thought I’d have Bad Penny done by now, but no such luck. I’m still on the waist band and have a few more rounds to go before I do the lace bit of it. I might be able to get started on the last bit tonight. The hat for my sister still sits halfway through the first round. And the Falling Leaves socks have had a couple more repeats completed, but I’m still not at the heel. Another inch or so and I should be there. The problem with these has been that for whatever reason, using the small needles right now is hurting the fleshy bit of my palm near my thumb. I only got through a half a round (the instep on both) before I had to stop today. I later went back and finished that round, but did no more. And as I was at The Boy’s house, I had no other knitting with me. Boo.

Dakota after being coerced into being content with laying partially on my leg while I tried to knit instead of full on my lap.

I did more cooking this weekend. My first ever Chicken (Pot) Pie. I love these and have wanted to make one on so many occasions over the years, but I always chickened (ha!) out because I imagined they’d be difficult. It took me a bit longer than the recipe said for the preparation, but that’s because I’m slow with the knife and having to convert from American measurements to UK. Anyway, it turned out pretty well. It wasn’t a true pot pie with the double crust, but a single flakey pastry crust instead. The only thing I’d do is reduce the amount of broth as it turned out too brothy. I also made a Chocolate Pudding Cake or sometimes called a Hot Fudge Cake - it’s the one where you can mix it and bake it all in the same vessel and it makes it’s own chocolate sauce. Yum.

Chicken pot, chicken pot, chicken pot piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie

Other events from the week… Having my time wasted by a recruitment agency on Tuesday. Seeing the Shins on Wednesday! They were so good! Go see them!! Having a “Christmas” meal out with work colleagues … we do normally do this in uhm January for some reason, but no one was interested and it was decided to do it anyway and now. I took to calling it a Jesus-related meal. And also on Friday I got my letter from Domesticat! What fun! I’ll be penning a letter in return. I also received the name of a person to write to as part of Domesticat’s Knitterly Letter Swap.

The Shins at the Forum in London.

As you can see, I’ve put the contrasting colour onto both sleeves of Bad Penny [apologies for showing you my lack of six pack and that I am wearing a black bra, but obviously I didn't go out in this top, but one that required a black bra]. I had to remove the original bind off and re-do it with a larger needle. The Lana Grossa Rotonda has zero give so despite using a 3.75mm needle to bind off stitches created with a 2.5mm needle, the result was too tight. I ended up using a 4.5mm needle and it just fits. Weaving in the ends of Rotonda is difficult too because it’s very slippery - any suggestions so it stays put? It also twists like crazy, but I’m sure much of that is down to my technique (still knitting English style - throwing the yarn - versus Continental). Ooh if I could get one of those things like they put on phone cords so they don’t get all crazy-twisted then I’d be set! Don’t steal my idea.

I’m in the process of putting all the body stitches back on the needles so I can continue knitting the body and see if I need a SIXTH ball of yarn. I know I’m busty, but I’m really surprised at the quantities indicated in the pattern versus what I’m finding thus far. I don’t really expect to gain much length with blocking since it’s a cotton and rayon blend, but maybe I’m wrong? I pretty much have zero experience with blocking.

Earlier today I was really frustrated with these sleeves as I thought I might end up taking off the contrast colour completely, extending the sleeve slightly with the main colour and then adding the cuffs again. I don’t really like cap sleeves ’cause I have flabby arms and I find that they creep up a lot and end up bunching up in my armpit. Maybe it’s because I’m ridiculously fidgety as well… But after fixing the bind off, they seem fine. And should I ever actually get my butt into the pool, my arms will slim down a bit anyway.

I’ve put myself on a yarn diet because I have more yarn than I can do anything with at the moment and the mounting clutter is starting to send me into panic attack mode. Also, it will do my finances good. The only exception is if I have to buy more yarn to finish a project (e.g. the sixth ball for Bad Penny and possibly a fourth for Ms Marigold). I can trade yarn, but I’d prefer to sell it off so I can put the money towards debts - every little bit helps, right? I put an auction up on eBay for some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky and I’ll see if I can’t sell that superwash wool I tried to sell awhile back.

I have also found out that the baby my brother and girlfriend are expecting is a girl and that it’s due in late-June so that gives me more time than I thought. I might knit the dress from the Debbie Bliss Baby Knits for Beginners book. I’m still working on my Falling Leaves socks. I take those to my work Stitch n’ Bitch. (Apparently my co-worker / friend has told her husband that I do a majority of both! I’m so embarassed about the latter.) I’ve got a ways to go on them yet and wish I could just get into a good rhythm. As I expect that I may be at home all weekend (as in not out with The Boy), I may get a lot done. It would be nice to wear them before summer gets here! Like a lot of places, we’ve suddenly snapped back from the definite beginnings of spring right back into winter. There was actually some snow on the ground this morning. Snow! In Oxford!!

And just because I’ve probably managed to traumatise you with the picture above, here’s some tulips from The Boy. He gave me two bunches of flowers in the course of a week.

If I hadn’t been distracted by the Chunky ruffle beanie, a bib, and my boyfriend, I probably would’ve had Bad penny done… or nearly done. Alas, it is not the case. I got one sleeve done (with cuff) and have tried it on. I’m really fearful that the extra ball of yarn I had to buy will not be enough!

I made the cuff a bit shorter than the pattern says because it just seemed like it was about to go into looking unbalanced since the green is so bright. The body only covers my boobs right now and I should get another 3.5 inches out of the extra ball of yarn I bought plus the waist band which will add another 3 inches. This should make the body (measuring from under my arm down towards my waist) 13.5 - 14 inches which sounds like a lot, but considering that the 7.5 inches of body now just cover my boobs, I’m a a bit worried that it will still be too short! I’ll just have to knit this other ball and try it on again and see how it’s fitting. I have to order another ball of yarn for Ms Marigold anyway so I’ll get on it see if I need the other ball of Binario.

For whatever random reason, I decided to cast on for the Petal bib in One skein. I even had the recommended yarn! I’d bought the Rowan Handknit cotton for a hat for my sister last year, but I found it difficult to knit with so I didn’t use it. Seems like this bib and maybe a wash cloth would be good use as I still have a lot more of it (amateur buying of far more yarn than I’d actually need for a hat). For full details, see its very own page.

I’ve actually finished this hat three times! Go me! The first time it came out very pointy. The second time, it came out slightly pointy. And the third time, it was just right. How very Goldilocks…

The hat is knit in two parts - the band which is knit flat and then seamed together, hopefully invisibily, and then picking up stitches, you knit the crown in the round. I had a couple problems with techniques used in this pattern. First, I had never done a provisional cast-on and as I was a bit eager to get this going and done pretty fast, I had a couple goes at the provisional cast-on and it was just too wobbley so I cast on as normal and would unravel / cut the waste yarn when it came to joining the two ends of the band together. I know that’s not an elegant solution, but it mostly worked for me. I say mostly as I expect that even if I had done the provisional cast on, I would’ve had the same problem with recovering the live stitches as I had with my method - I find it only a little difficult since that first row is not just knit, but in pattern stitch which includes yarn overs.

Second, the edges of the band are done with an Annie Modesitt technique where you k1 sl1 w/ yarn in front, k1 (on the right side). I can’t remember what name this has actually been given, but it’s been given a name! Anyway, for some reason this worked just fine on the right column (w/ right side facing), but the left side ended up really loose. I tried tightening it up and it just didn’t want to.

Third, a common theme in my knitting, my gauge must’ve ended up way off because I had to pick up fourteen more stitches than in the pattern meaning I knit a whole repeat extra. I think my stitch gauge was right, but my row gauge off. Anyway, it looks fine in the end although the crown does seem short. Looking at the sample picture, it’s the same there and I don’t know how much I really like it. It looked okay in the picture, but in person, I just don’t know!

I’ll post this to my sister tomorrow - hopefully she’ll like it and get use out of it. I feel a bit guilty that the two patterns she chose, I haven’t actually knit yet - the Amelia Earhart cap and Shedir. I just can’t get the Amelia cap to work. I need to practice wrapping for one, but I don’t know what it is w/ that pattern. And Shedir, well I still haven’t bought the replacement Rowan Calmer I need - I did try the other day, but they were out of stock.

And just a note on Bad Penny. I got through the raglan increases and a couple rows into the main body and had already used up two of the four balls of the main colour! Once I finished the third ball, I measured how much body that got me and discovered I would need a fifth ball. Well, I bought this yarn a year ago so I didn’t want to start on the fourth ball until I knew if I would be able to get a fifth ball in the same dyelot. Luckily the place I ordered it from still had some from the same dyelot! Phew. In doing a bit of googling, I found that others ended up short on yarn too. And I’m knitting the smallest size! While I was waiting to hear if they had the same dyelot, I started on the contrasting colour on the sleeves. That yarn is very hard to work with! 100% microfibre. I did a few rounds and decided I didn’t like how it looked where it joined the main colour so I ripped it out - I’ll knit that first round and then start in the 1×1 ribbing. I’ll also knit in the round versus flat - I’m not sure why it says to knit these flat - the less seaming the better! I’m nearly done with the fourth ball so then I can go back to doing the sleeves and collar while I wait for the fifth ball.

I’ll add pattern details about the hat later as I need to get going right now! I’ve decided that with each finished object, I’ll make a page about it so I can include all the details there and notes. I may retroactively do the other items, but for now, here’s the info on a touch of whimsy hat